Q: Hello Mr. Carver. I own Apogee Scintilla loudspeakers. I am interested in your amplifiers and love the sound of vacuum tubes. Every tube amplifier that i have tried with these speakers has been unable to drive them to an adequate volume level without distortion. Can you reassure me that these will work and, if so, how do they do it? Thanks. Jun-09-10A: Hi '113, Driving the Apogees is a matter of raw power as their impedance is about one ohm and their sensitivity is only about 72 dB SPL referred to one watt @ eight ohms. Pretty abysmal. But so what? They are among the most fantastic sounding speakers of all time. I remember first hearing them years ago, and knew I was in the presence of greatness! They were clearly designed by a person who loved music and wanted his speakers to sound as good as he knew how. And never mind the impedance or the sensitivity! He was a true artist, and that approach took courage because they were impossible to drive by normal amplifiers, and that fact alone limited his market tremendously. He was truly courageous. This amplifier has six powerful KT88 output tubes, and can easily deliver 27 peak amperes into a one ohm Apogee load. That's a peak power of over 700 watts! Not only that, but I own a pair of Apogees and have spent countless hours with this amp, together with the Apogees optimizing the whole system. I speak from first hand experience - fear not, these amps will drive your Apogees with aplomb. Good question, hope this helps, Bob Carver

Q: Would you ship to Hong Kong? I will pay by PayPal. What is the shipping cost? Jun-09-10A: Hi 'trad, Yes I will happily ship to Hong Kong, and the cost is about $185 dollars each, or $370 for both. PayPal is good. Thanks for joining in, Bob Carver

Q: Bob: I notice you have said that these amps are the original prototypes after your (apparently) eventful meeting with Tim de Paravicini. However, you have sold other amplifiers here in the recent past. How do they differ from one another? Thanks a lot! Chris Jun-09-10A: Hi Chris, I just knew someone would ask this! The only difference is the output power because of my new output transformers. They sound the same except for that. Cosmetic differences are a change from bright bottom screws to shiny black ones, a shorter roll-bar for the tubes, and the chassis is infinitesimally (3/16 inch) longer to better allow the small tubes and volume control to fit. That's it. Great question, and thanks for asking, Bob Carver

Q: Hi, Bob. Apparently some would-be scammers have grabbed hold of your items during some of the past auctions and have tried to rip off honest bidders using your pictures and description. To separate the REAL Bob Carver from the scammers, what's your dog's name? Thanks! Jun-09-10A: Hi 'qn, It is frustrating to see this happen - eBay has tried hard to keep the scammers shut down, and have pulled those schemers off line as soon as they (eBay) knew about it. Please do not send them any money, no matter what they promise, as you will almost certainly lose it all! They are easy to identify, at least on eBay, as they will not answer any QUESTIONS through eBay, even though they let you send MONEY. My dog's name is Zeus. Bid without fear, Bob Carver

Q: How can the tubes last for 50 years when most manufacturers recommend changing the tubes in their amps in 3 or so years? Dave Jun-09-10A: Hi Dave, That is a very good question! The answer is the DC restorer. Here's how. Most amps idle the output tubes at an average of 32 watts or so. Now the DC restorer allows the tubes to idle at about 9.75 watts. Since tube longevity is roughly proportional to power of the plate dissipation raised to the 2.3 power, we have 32 divided by 9.75 raised to the power of 2.3 = 15.4. Finally, 15.4 X 3 years = 46 years. I have also noticed that many console amplifiers have 50 year old tubes right here on eBay, and those tubes check out great. Great question, hope this helps, Bob Carver

Q: We live in Germany. I love your amplifiers. My father has been a fan of yours for many years. His birthday is next month. How much would it cost to send these amplifiers to Munich? Danke! Detlef Jun-09-10A: Hi Detlef, I can't sing happy birthday in German, but I wish your father a happy birthday sung in English. To the tune of Clair de Lune....Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, - I could go on and on. All the way to Munich, Germany is about $240 dollars each, plus or minus. Thanks for asking, Bob Carver

Q: Hello Bob. Beautiful amplifiers. I doubt that I'll have the coin to win, but I do have a question: How do you get so much power from such a small amplifier? Am I missing something? Thanks. Jun-09-10A: Hi 'tss, Thank you, I think they are beautiful too. I spent a lot of time getting the color just right. I tried espresso brown, bright red, several other colors, and finally metallic burgundy cherry red. I liked that the best. As for the power, it was pretty easy actually - all we did was use a lot of output tubes, a transformer turns ratio of about 17:1, a robust high voltage power supply, and the vintage Silver Eagle KT88 easily did the rest. And it's NOT so small-each one weighs almost 45 lbs! Good question, thanks for asking, Bob Carver

Q: Do you ship to Italy? How much cost? Jun-09-10A: Hi 'anb, Yes indeed I do ship to Italy. I can do that because airplanes and ships and trucks arrive in Rome every day. No problem, and the cost is approximately $210 dollars per amplifier. Thanks for asking, Bob Carver

Q: If you were to send me a dummie case, that is no transformers parts inside, just the finished case with tubes, I'd be glad to photograph it for you professionally for free and return it. Check me out at StudioNOVAimages dot com. Great amps by the way. Best Regards, Tony Nova Jun-09-10A: Hi Tony, I can't sing, I can't play baseball, I can't dance and I surely cannot handle a camera well. I can design amps though. You are ON! Thank you for your offer - I will send you a case soon after this auction is over. Thank you thank you! Bob Carver bob.sunfire@gmail.com

Q: Hi how much do they sell for If a guy whated to just buy him self a set and skip the biding part of ebay ? Jun-09-10A: Hi '008, Ummm, good question, let's see, there is paint, the chassis, the vintage tubes, covers and tube sockets, plus line cords and lots and lots of time. It takes me a full day just to wind a pair output transformers - it's a good thing I enjoy building amps so much! I cannot say, how about making me an offer we can't refuse. Seriously. As for this auction, it must run its course. Thanks for writing and joining in, Bob Carver